A Midsummer Night's Dream (7 page)

And I will overhear their conference.

DEMETRIUS
    I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.

Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?

The one I'll stay, the other stayeth
¹⁹⁴
me.

Thou told'st me they were stolen into this wood;

And here am I, and
wood
¹⁹⁶
within this wood,

Because I cannot meet my Hermia.

Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.

HELENA
    You
draw
me, you hard-hearted
adamant
¹⁹⁹
;

But yet you draw not iron, for my heart

Is true as steel.
Leave you
²⁰¹
your power to draw,

And I shall have no power to follow you.

DEMETRIUS
    Do I entice you? Do I speak
you fair
²⁰³
?

Or rather do I not in plainest truth

Tell you I do not nor I cannot love you?

HELENA
    And even for that do I love thee the more.

I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.

Use me
but
²⁰⁹
as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me,

Neglect me, lose me; only give me
leave
²¹⁰
,

Unworthy as I am, to follow you.

What worser place can I beg in your love —

And yet a place of high respect with me —

Than to be used as you do use your dog?

DEMETRIUS
    Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit,

For I am sick when I do look on thee.

HELENA
    And I am sick when I look not on you.

DEMETRIUS
    You do
impeach
²¹⁸
your modesty too much,

To leave the city and commit yourself

Into the hands of one that loves you not,

To trust the opportunity of night

And the ill counsel of a
desert
²²²
place

With the rich worth of your virginity.

HELENA
    Your virtue is my
privilege
:
for that
²²⁴

It is not night when I do see your face,

Therefore I think I am not in the night.

Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,

For you in my respect are all the world.

Then how can it be said I am alone,

When all the world is here to look on me?

DEMETRIUS
    I'll run from thee and hide me in the
brakes
²³¹
,

And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.

HELENA
    The wildest hath not such a heart as you.

Run when you will, the story shall be changed:

Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase
²³⁵
;

The dove pursues the
griffin
, the mild
hind
²³⁶

Makes speed to catch the tiger.
Bootless
²³⁷
speed,

When cowardice pursues and valour flies.

DEMETRIUS
    I will not
stay
²³⁹
thy questions, let me go;

Or if thou follow me, do not believe

But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.

HELENA
    Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field,

You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!

Your wrongs do
set a scandal on my sex
²⁴⁴
:

We cannot fight for love, as men may do;

We should be wooed and were not made to woo.

I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,

To die
upon
²⁴⁸
the hand I love so well.

OBERON
    Fare thee well, nymph: ere he do leave this grove,

Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.

Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.

ROBIN
    Ay, there it is.

OBERON
    I pray thee give it me.

I know a bank where the wild thyme
blows
²⁵⁴
,

Where
oxlips
²⁵⁵
and the nodding violet grows,

Quite
over-canopied with luscious
woodbine
²⁵⁶
,

With sweet
musk-roses
and with
eglantine
²⁵⁷
:

There sleeps Titania
sometime
²⁵⁸
of the night,

Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight:

And there the snake
throws
²⁶⁰
her enamelled skin,

Weed
²⁶¹
wide enough to wrap a fairy in.

And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes,

And make her full of hateful fantasies.

Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove;

A sweet Athenian lady is in love

With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes,

But do it when the next thing he espies

May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man

By the Athenian garments he hath on.

Effect it with some care, that he may prove

More
fond on
²⁷¹
her than she upon her love;

And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.

ROBIN
    Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so.

TITANIA
    Come, now a
roundel
¹
and a fairy song;

Then, for the third part of a minute, hence:

Some to kill
cankers
³
in the musk-rose buds,

Some war with
reremice
for their
leathern
⁴
wings,

To make my small elves coats, and some keep back

The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders

At our
quaint
⁷
spirits. Sing me now asleep,

Then to your
offices
⁸
and let me rest.

FIRST FAIRY
    You spotted snakes with
double
⁹
tongue,

     Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen.

     Newts and
blind-worms
¹¹
, do no wrong,

     Come not near our fairy queen.

CHORUS
    
Philomel
¹³
, with melody

     Sing in our sweet lullaby,

     Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby.

     Never harm,

     Nor spell nor charm,

     Come our lovely lady
nigh
¹⁸
;

     So, good night, with lullaby.

SECOND FAIRY
    Weaving spiders, come not here.

     Hence, you long-legged spinners, hence!

     Beetles black, approach not near;

     Worm nor snail, do no offence.

CHORUS
    Philomel, with melody,
etc
²⁴
.

FIRST FAIRY
    Hence, away! Now all is well;

     One
aloof
stand
sentinel
²⁶
.

OBERON
    What thou see'st when thou dost wake,

Do it for thy true-love take,

Love and languish for his sake.

Be it
ounce
³⁰
or cat or bear,

Pard
³¹
, or boar with bristled hair,

In thy eye that shall appear

When thou wak'st, it is thy dear.

Wake when some vile thing is near.

LYSANDER
    Fair love, you faint with wand'ring in the wood,

And to speak
troth
³⁶
, I have forgot our way:

We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good,

And
tarry for the comfort of the day
³⁸
.

HERMIA
    Be it so, Lysander; find you out a bed,

For I upon this bank will rest my head.

LYSANDER
    One turf shall serve as pillow for us both:

One heart, one bed, two bosoms and one
troth
⁴²
.

HERMIA
    Nay, good Lysander, for my sake, my dear,

Lie further off yet, do not lie so near.

LYSANDER
    O,
take the sense
⁴⁵
, sweet, of my innocence!

Love takes the meaning in love's conference
⁴⁶
.

I mean that my heart unto yours is knit

So that but one heart we can make of it.

Two bosoms interchainèd with an oath,

So then two bosoms and a single troth.

Then by your side no bed-room me deny,

For lying so, Hermia, I do not
lie
⁵²
.

HERMIA
    Lysander riddles very
prettily
⁵³
.

Now much
beshrew
⁵⁴
my manners and my pride,

If Hermia meant to say Lysander lied.

But, gentle
friend
⁵⁶
, for love and courtesy

Lie further off, in
human
⁵⁷
modesty:

Such separation as may well be said

Becomes
⁵⁹
a virtuous bachelor and a maid,

So far be distant, and good night, sweet friend;

Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet life end!

LYSANDER
    Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I,

And then end life when I end loyalty!

Here is my bed: sleep give thee all his rest!

HERMIA
    With half that wish the
wisher's eyes
be
pressed
⁶⁵
!

ROBIN
    Through the forest have I gone,

But Athenian found I none

On whose eyes I might
approve
⁶⁸

This flower's force in stirring love.

Night and silence — who is here?

Weeds of Athens he doth wear:

This is he, my master said,

Despisèd the Athenian maid:

And here the maiden, sleeping sound,

On the dank and dirty ground.

Pretty soul, she durst not lie

Near this lack-love, this kill-courtesy.

Churl
⁷⁸
, upon thy eyes I throw

All the power this charm doth
owe
⁷⁹
.

When thou wak'st, let love
forbid
⁸⁰

Sleep his seat on thy eyelid.

So awake when I am gone,

For I must now to Oberon.

HELENA
    Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius.

DEMETRIUS
    I
charge
thee, hence, and do not
haunt
⁸⁵
me thus.

HELENA
    O, wilt thou
darkling
⁸⁶
leave me? Do not so.

DEMETRIUS
    Stay, on thy peril: I alone will go.

HELENA
    O, I am out of breath in this
fond
⁸⁸
chase!

The more my prayer, the lesser is my
grace
⁸⁹
.

Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she
lies
⁹⁰
;

For she hath blessèd and attractive eyes.

How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears:

If so, my eyes are oftener washed than hers.

No, no, I am as ugly as a bear;

For beasts that meet me run away for fear:

Therefore no
marvel
⁹⁶
though Demetrius

Do,
as
⁹⁷
a monster, fly my presence thus.

What wicked and dissembling
glass
⁹⁸
of mine

Made me compare with Hermia's
sphery eyne
⁹⁹
?

But who is here? Lysander, on the ground;